It was great seeing Stephanie Busari again yesterday and sharing the stage with her as a co-panelist with Seyitan Atigarin and chisom_mbonu_ezeoke (both not pictured here though).
#StephanieBusari has remained a great support to me, a case of one who sees your tiny light early enough and fanning its flame to continue to shine every opportunity she gets.
Again, I had the privilege to talk about the need for journalists to always get professional help in terms of therapy, counseling and psychological assessment especially for those covering crisis and conflict; I also advocated for the leadership in News organization to make that available to their employees.
Interestingly that gained a lot of attention and response from the participants. And I also have woken up to so many emails, texts, and DMs on the need for this conversation to be pushed further in news organizations across Nigeria.
If you are in any management position in any media organization reading this, please give it a life and act on it. And thank you to some last already for this. Premium Times I hear has some sort of therapy or counseling help open to all. Shout out to you!
I really want to say again, this is a need and not luxury.
In my former employment I got all the resources I needed to do my work. And because I also know the value of therapy, invested in it myself (make no mistake, if I had requested it from the organization, it would have provided it).
So, I am saying to any journalist out there, always ask your organization for it. And let’s get accustomed to the concept of therapy.
International organizations make that available for anyone who needs it. I know so because I now work for one and I also know colleagues who have shared their therapy journeys. You can refer to Clarissa Ward’s #OnAllFronts where she spoke of her experience.
Let me end by saying, when you invest in your employees, your organization gets the best because you get the best of your employee to deliver at their highest level.
And for fellow journalists, remember you can get vicariously traumatized just by what you cover and the stories you follow. And don’t forget also, trauma is usually subtle, it seeps in, it is there. Don’t wait till it breaks you down. Nervous breakdown is real
Lastly, therapy is a need and not a luxury😊
#womensday
#womeninjournalism
#womenHistoryMonth
#JournalistWithADifference
#SomeTipsForColleagues
